1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to an alerting device. More specifically, it relates to a headphone adapter designed to alert a headphone user or more than one headphone users when another individual is attempting to communicate with the headphone user(s).
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In this day and age, audio devices and headphones have become common accessories. While many benefits stem from headphones, issues have arisen in communicating with individuals using headphones. The party attempting to communicate with a headphone user is often unable to gain the attention of the headphone user due to headphones' inherent ability to block out external noise by transmitting audio. Resultantly, the communicating party is forced to gain the user's attention through shouting, visual contact, or physical contact, which could easily annoy either party.
Currently, there exists technology to gain the attention of headphone users when they are receiving an incoming phone call, such as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/165,887 to Wainwright. However, this technology is designed to inform a headphone user when he/she is receiving a phone call. It does not enable an individual to gain the attention of a headphone user without calling the headphone user's cellular telephone.
Accordingly, what is needed is a simple and inexpensive system adapted to enable an individual to gain the attention of a headphone user without either party having to use a cell phone. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the shortcomings of the prior art could be overcome.
All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.